Reviewed practice puzzle
Scoring stars and franchise changes
This original practice board pairs three columns with three independent basketball clues. It is designed as a study exercise: read the full clue, choose an answer, then compare your reasoning with the documented answer set below.
Lesson: Separating franchise lineage
Seattle SuperSonics history belongs to the Thunder franchise record, so Kemp is valid in the middle column. The travel row is different: each answer must also connect to one of the other two columns, making Drexler and Anthony useful memory anchors.
Answer walkthrough
Scoring champion
Rockets: James Harden. Thunder or Sonics: Kevin Durant. Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard. Each name is one defensible answer, not an exhaustive list; alternative answers may work when they meet the published clue definition.
Played for another listed team
Rockets: Carmelo Anthony. Thunder or Sonics: Scottie Pippen. Trail Blazers: Clyde Drexler. Each name is one defensible answer, not an exhaustive list; alternative answers may work when they meet the published clue definition.
Frontcourt All-Star
Rockets: Yao Ming. Thunder or Sonics: Shawn Kemp. Trail Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge. Each name is one defensible answer, not an exhaustive list; alternative answers may work when they meet the published clue definition.
How this puzzle was checked
Team history, awards, draft information, season statistics, and playoff results were checked against the source hierarchy described on the sources and editorial standards page. Ambiguous labels are explained on this page instead of being silently treated as facts. The board was manually reviewed before publication.
Practice a second time by covering the green cells and finding a different valid name for every square. That exercise builds a flexible player pool and exposes the columns where your memory is too dependent on one star.